Bella and Edward
by twinkletoes aka Ballerina GIRL
Summary: A take on the ever popular Twilight series. Bella is strong willed and not shy at all. She is curious about the Cullens, especially Edward, and does her best to figure out who they are and what their secret is.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey guys, so apparently my other story isn't coming across to everybody on fanfiction so well because, well … no one is even bothering to read it

**A/N: Hey guys, so apparently my other story isn't coming across to everybody on fanfiction so well because, well … no one is even bothering to read it. So I decided to write a truly Twilight based, Bella and Edward story … but it's probably a little darker than what you're used to. Put it this way (and don't forget that I absolutely adore anything having anything to do with Twilight) Bella is not nearly as much of a weak sissy as she is in the book. Read and see …**

**Disclaimer: I (unfortunately) do not own Twilight or any of its illustrious and loveable characters.**

_**Bella's Point of View …**_

It was my first day at Forks, and also my first day at Forks high school. I was nervous. But, of course, no one except for you and me would ever know that … could ever know that.

As I was getting ready for school that morning, all I could think was, 'Will I be as much of a dork here as I was at my old school?' It was my worst nightmare, my greatest fear, and my deepest and darkest secret. No one in the world knew of my horrible insecurities. I had never had a best friend to share them with, and I never felt the need for one.

Okay, so I also have horrible trust issues. But can you really blame me? The only real, good relationship I ever had was with my mother, and she died when I was nine. I guess I never really got over her dying. I almost blamed her for dying and leaving me alone in this big, mean world, and this feeling only intensified as I grew older.

I was passed from foster family to foster family, but never did I stay in one place for more than a few weeks, at most. Everyone I met just seemed to think I was weird, and no one really ever took the time to actually get to know me. I guess I came across as an extremely troubled child who understood way more than she should have. I had un-nine-year-old-like ideas and theories, and most adults seemed to shy away and be afraid of that. None of them ever wanted to talk to me for fear of bringing about one of my strange, adult 'revelations'.

Whatever it was that made people shy away from me, to my mind all I saw was that I was seen by everyone as 'weird' and 'different', and I saw quite clearly how no one wanted to associate with me. I put up with this for a few years, becoming more closed and guarded every year, but eventually I got sick of it.

On my seventeenth birthday, I ran away from my latest foster home, set on finding a better place for me in the world. Just out of curiosity, I stuck around town for a few days, wondering how my disappearance would be taken. When it was reported to the foster center, they weren't really worried or surprised at all. I think they had been expecting it all along. In fact, many of the people I had associated with there held to the theory that I had died of an overdose. The police report was filed and stuck in the back of some dusty old drawer, not to be seen until the next clean-out day … fifty years from now.

Honestly, this made it easier for me. No one was searching for me, so I didn't have to worry about staying hidden at all. My face wasn't even pictured on the news, so no one outside of my small town would even recognize me.

As soon as I saw how little they truly cared, I left that town, never to look back at it.

I passed myself off for eighteen and 'acquired' a driver's license that said as much. Since then I've been hopping from town to town, trying to find some place where someone, anyone, actually cared about me.

And now I was in Forks, staying in an abandoned little cottage in the woods, and going to high school at Forks High.

I checked the little digital clock that I had washed a pile of dishes fifty feet high to get, and I saw that if I didn't leave soon I wouldn't make it to school in time to wash the mud off of my shoes before everyone got there.

I grabbed my little tote bag and hurried out the door and down the now mud path to my new high school.

When I got there, the parking lot only held a few cars, and I knew that no one would be in the bathrooms to unearth my little secret. I hurried in and slipped off my shoes. They were covered in mud. I filled up the sink with water and threw my shoes in. After only a few minutes of scrubbing they were clean again, and no one would ever guess that I had walked over two miles down dirt roads to make it here.

I hurried to the office and got my schedule, and then I walked around the campus, getting a feel of the lay out.

Students began arriving, and the whispers began. I ignored them and held my head high and proud, not willing to let anyone take advantage of me.

I only had to take about ten minutes of unlimited whispers before it was close enough to class time to excuse disappearing into the class room. Not that the class room was much better.

My first four periods passed in basically the same way, namely, me sitting in proud and defensive silence as I did my best to tune out the whispered conversations that I could hear all too well.

However, in fifth period, I had a new experience. In all of my previous classes, there had been a seat all to myself, however, in this class (biology) all of the tables were made to seat two people. Now, this wouldn't have been a problem … if there had been an entirely empty table. However, just my luck, the only empty seat in the entire room was next to the most gorgeous guy I had ever laid eyes on.

I walked in and balked. The blood all rushed from my face, and I stopped solid before I realized what I had just done and did my best to cover it up by smoothly walking and taking my seat next to this very interesting person.

All through the class, I kept sneaking glances at him through the curtain of hair that I had made fall in a curtain between us. I took in his beautiful bronze hair, kept in a perfectly messy style, his marble profile, and his onyx black eyes. I noticed the tension with which he held himself and how hard he gripped the table … to the point where the two inch thick oak looked as though it were cracking. And … call me crazy, but I really thought he wasn't breathing.

Every once in a while he would relax his grip on the table ever so slightly, and then go right back to crushing it in his hand. Well, no matter how much this boy hated me, I was curious, and it would take him some work to get rid of me.

_**Edward's Point of View**_

Why did the seat next to me have to be the only one available? It was hard enough for me having to be in the same room as her, much less sitting right beside her. Every breath she took, every move she made, she came nearer and nearer to driving me mad, and nearer to instigating her own death, and probably the death of every person in that room.

"Calm yourself, Edward. You won't actually do anything," I heard my little sister, Alice, calling to me.

Hmph. That just shows how much she knew. Then again, she could see the future … maybe it would be possible for me to last through this period.

_**Alice's Point of View**_

I saw Edward destroying that entire room of students, just for that girl. I had to stop him. Right now he was in no state to receive random messages, or at least to comprehend everything he was getting. I carefully hid my other thoughts and sent him a deliberate message that he was sure to hear, "Calm yourself, Edward. You won't actually do anything."

I waited a few seconds, and got another vision. No annihilations, he would make it through the class. I congratulated myself, _Nice one, Alice. Another roomful of humans saved, another move deterred … for now._ Edward was having a hard time dealing with this girl.

I looked to the future to see whether, as of now, he could ever get used to her aroma. But what I saw surprised even me beyond words … or, thankfully, thoughts.

_**Bella's Point of View**_

Well, that certainly was the most interesting class I had had so far. The entire class, the boy never moved, except for the periodical relaxing and tensing of his hand on the table.

Eventually, the bell rang, and he was up and out of the room before I had a chance to blink. I gathered my things up as fast as was humanly possible and ran after him, not even noticing the weird stares I was attracting.

I followed him to the lunch room, and by the time I got there he was already seated. The people he was seated with shocked me, once again, into a dead halt. I shook my head, _Lord, Bella, you've got to stop doing that, or people are going to start thinking something's up._

I composed myself and walked over to their table. I wanted to figure these people out, and what was the easiest way of doing this? Ahh … yes, eating lunch and socializing with them. There was one empty seat left at the table, and I had my eye on it.

_**Edward's Point of View**_

"What's the extra chair for?" I asked Alice, slightly scared.

"Oh, you'll see soon enough," she replied, smiling that little impish smirk that warned me of danger immediately.

I glared at her for a second before returning to the book that I was reading.

Then, I caught a whiff of that mouthwatering scent again. I turned ever so slightly and saw _her_ walking towards our table.

_**Alice's Point of View**_

"What's the extra chair for?" Edward asked me. I could tell he was nervous, and I almost laughed. I had the power to instill that little bit of nervousness in everyone I met.

"Oh, you'll see soon enough," I replied vaguely, giving him my best mischievous smile.

We sat for a few seconds in silence before I saw him tense. I glanced up and saw that, just as I had seen, Bella was on her way to our table.

_**Bella's Point of View**_

I saw him tense again as I got nearer to the table, but that didn't deter me at all. I was curious about him. There was something … not quite right about him, about all of them.

I lifted my chin and smiled commandingly as I stopped at their table. "Hi, I'm new here. Do you mind if I sit with you guys?"

They all looked at each other, all except for the boy who sat next to me in Biology, and the small, pixie-like one sitting across from him. He sat rock still in his chair, staring off into the distance. Meanwhile, she smiled at me, and replied, "Sure, there's an extra chair right here." But her reply came just a little too soon, almost as if she were expecting me to come join them.

_**Alice's Point of View**_

Just as I had seen, Bella stalked over to our table and asked if she could sit with us.

Before anyone could say anything, I pushed the extra chair that I had been hoarding just for her towards her and told her sure.

As she took her seat, I glanced around at the other people sitting with me.

Jasper, sitting next to me, gave me a disapproving look, but nothing more. He knew me well enough, he probably realized as soon as she started walking towards our table exactly what my plan was. "You _will _explain this to me," he stated.

I nodded like an ashamed child and laughed.

Emmet seemed a little surprised, but not too unhappy about it. He was usually fairly friendly, and I wasn't expecting him to have a problem with it.

Rose, on the other hand, looked absolutely furious. When she noticed me looking at her, she took a few seconds to glare at me before returning to glaring at Bella. Well, I guess I expected that reaction. Rosalie was just too stuck-up for her own good.

And then, I got to Edward. I had saved his reaction for last, because I knew he was the one I would be having the most fun with. He was giving me the darkest glare he could possibly muster. I almost thought he might actually be mad at me. Except for the fact that he knew there was a reason for what I did. Plus, he never got mad at me! I was his favorite little sis! He couldn't tell what my reason was because I was deliberately thinking different, very loud thoughts to him, but he knew there was a motive.

_**Edward's Point of View**_

I could not believe Alice! What was she thinking!! I gripped the steel leg of the chair I was sitting in and crushed it into a millimeter thick imprint of my hand. Whoops … I would have to get rid of that.

As soon as Alice looked at me, I gave her my best glare. I knew there had to be some reason to what she was doing, I just couldn't figure out what. She was doing a very good job of covering up any and every thought that might give her away.

I glared at her even harder, but she just gave me another impish grin before turning to talk to Bella.

**A/N: Okay, do you like it? Review me, people! I didn't think I would actually have much fun with this story because Twilight is written about sooooo much, but I'm having a great time. I have some ideas about what's going to happen next, but I'm open to other ideas, so send me your ideas! (This doesn't happen often. Usually I'm very set and know exactly what's going to happen next, so take advantage of this chance, and give me something to write about!) REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!! ******


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to x-rosepetals-x

**A/N: This chapter is dedicated to x-rosepetals-x! Thank you so much for being the first person to review! And because you did, I decided to give you another chapter today!! I don't have anything better to do, so here it is! Thanks so much, again!**

_Recap: It's Bella's first day at Forks High. She is a runaway from her foster home, but most of the people from her 'hometown' think she died of an overdose. She is now living in an abandoned cottage in the woods. She is forced to sit next to Edward Cullen during biology, and she is curious about him. She senses that there is something weird about his entire family. To try to find out what it is, she asks if she can sit with them at lunch, and Alice, who has plans of her own, invites her to before anyone else can put in their two cents._

_**Bella's Point of View**_

I was surprised that this girl had agreed so willingly to allow me to sit with them, and I quickly took the seat she had offered before she could change her mind.

As I sat down, I noticed how she looked for the reaction of the rest of the group. The boy next to her gave her a condescending look, but he didn't seem too angry or annoyed that I was sitting here. The big, burly guy next to him, who reminded me of a bear, actually seemed almost happy that I was there. I decided that I already liked him. He seemed a lot more friendly and warm than the rest of them. I moved on to the most gorgeous girl I had ever seen sitting next to him. She did not seem at all happy that I was here, and I found myself not liking her as much as I liked the bear sitting next to her. I found that she reminded me of the snobby, self-absorbed cheerleader type that frequented every single high school I had ever attended.

And then there was the guy that I had sat next to in biology. Again, he was tense, and I saw him gripping the leg of his chair … and crushing it to a pulp. But I didn't notice that as much as I should have. I was too busy staring at him … again.

What was with me?! Of course, I'm a girl, so I appreciate a good-looking guy. Who doesn't? But I had never been this _fascinated_ by a guy. I was just automatically taken in by him. Looking at him gave me feelings that I didn't really understand deep in the pit of my stomach. They almost scared me, and I did my best to ignore them and function normally.

"Hi, I'm Alice!" the little pixie like girl who had let me sit down introduced herself.

"I'm Bella," I said, shaking her hand.

She was almost bouncing in her seat.

"This is my boyfriend, Jasper," she said, indicating the boy sitting next to her, as he offered his hand and I took it. "And this is Emmet, and his girlfriend Rosalie, but we call her Rose," Emmet waved at me kindly, but Rose merely glared even harder. "And this," she said, motioning the guy on my left, "this is Edward. I think you've met him," she smiled even bigger and then whispered harshly to Edward, "Say hello!"

_**Edward's Point of View**_

Alice introduced me to Bella, "And this, this is Edward. I think you've met him."

I was still concentrating on not giving in to her delicious aroma, so I wasn't even truly listening to Alice.

She got my attention, though, when I felt her stiletto heel connect with the front of my shin. "Say, hello!" she hissed at me.

I jumped, "Ow! What was that for?!"

"Say. Hello," she demanded.

I turned to Bella and held out my hand, "Hel … " I didn't get the entire word out, though. Up until now, I had not actually seen her. During biology I had been doing my best _not_ to see her. My breath was taken away by her absolute beauty.

"Something wrong?" she asked me, looking almost worried. I found myself not wanting her to be worried, I didn't want her to have any problems or cares at all. There was something, some new feeling, in the pit of my stomach, and it almost scared me. There was no way anyone, especially her, would ever know about this.

"No, nothing at all wrong. Sorry." I shook her hand, and as soon as our fingertips touched, tingles raced up my arm, and my breathing quickened. I looked at her, and I heard her heart begin racing, and her breathing quicken. Her eyes met mine, and I was drawn into her deep pools of chocolate. She jerked away from me, and I realized what I was doing.

I snatched up my book and returned to reading, beyond relieved that I could no longer blush.

_**Bella's Point of View**_

"Ow! What was that for?!" Edward whispered back to Alice.

"Say. Hello," she ordered him.

He turned to me, offering his hand, and, once again, I was caught off guard by his astonishing beauty.

"Hel …" he began, but the word drifted off, and he simply stared at me.

"Something wrong?" I asked him, worried slightly. For some reason, I cared about him, through my hatred for him, but I wasn't going to let him know that.

"No, nothing at all wrong. Sorry," he said, and finished offering his hand. I was taken off guard by his silky, sexy voice. It was all I could do to raise my hand and place it in his.

Our fingers touched, and a jolt ran up my arm. My heart began racing, and my breathing became faster and choppier. I didn't understand what was going on. I looked up at Edward and saw that he was staring straight at me. I looked into his onyx black eyes, and I felt myself falling into them. But I caught myself and jerked away from him.

I had no clue what was going on, but I sure as hell was not going to let him know what I was feeling.

I picked up my fork and shoved a gigantic bite of my lunch into my mouth.

_**Alice's Point of View**_

I was the only one who noticed how they looked at each other, how both of them became nervous and melted at the other's touch.

I was more than a little annoyed that neither of them was willing to show the other what they were feeling.

But I knew it would happen eventually. They were meant for each other. I was just an extremely impatient person with things like this.

They jerked away from each other, and I huffed into my magazine. Time for Plan B. I wasn't patient enough to just let things take their natural course.

As Bella tried to chew the huge bite of food she had shoved into her mouth, my mind was formulating Plan B.

_**Bella's Point of View**_

I noticed Alice eying me as though I were a very yummy piece of cake … or, rather, an extremely cute dress.

I swallowed as soon as I possibly could.

"What?"

She smiled to herself.

"Seriously, what?" I asked her, starting to feel just a little nervous.

"So, Bella, where you from?" she asked me.

"Uh …," I glanced around, "uh …Spoon. Spoon, Maine."

"Really," she said, "did you have any good friends in … Spoon?"

"Noo … not really. We move around a lot."

"Oh, that's too bad. I hope you find some really great friends here!"

"Yeah, so do I. That would be nice."

"You know, I think we could really be great friends!"

"Yeah, I think we could," I said, feeling hopeful. She seemed really nice.

"Do you want to come over to my … our house tonight? You could ride home with us and everything. Actually, you could spend the night, too. We'll bring you to school tomorrow so you don't have to worry about your car."

I mentally sighed. Thank goodness for that. "Yeah, sure, I'd love to come."

"Great!" she said, and began chattering about the latest fashions.

I began to wonder what I had gotten myself into. And not just because of her 'fashion talk', though that did have a big part in it. What really got to me were the glares that I received from everyone at the table except for Alice and Emmet …

**A/N: Once again, I really wanted to thank x-rosepetals-x and everyone who bothered to read my story! I can't promise the next chapter will appear as soon. Keep your fingers crossed and REVIEW!! ******


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Okay, thanks again to x-rosepetals-x

**A/N: Okay, thanks again to x-rosepetals-x! ONCE AGAIN, she was the ONLY person to review.**

**This chapter is pretty much just fluff, but it helps the story in my opinion, so deal with it. It'll fit better later.**

_**Bella's Point of View**_

I got through the rest of the day, but compared to biology and lunch it was the most boring thing I had ever had to sit through. No … scratch that … it was just the most boring thing I had ever had to sit through.

Finally, the last bell rang, and I rushed out of class, ready to actually have my mind stimulated for the first time since lunch.

Alice met me outside in all of her hyper happiness. I stepped out the door and was attacked by a little ball of energy that jumped on top of me and hugged me.

I almost fell backwards.

"Whoa, there, Alice! I'm already a klutz without your help!" I laughed as I said it to make it not sound so harsh.

She stepped back and I regained what little balance I had. "Sorry, Bella! I'm just so excited! You're going to have a great time tonight!" As she said this, she got a little smirk on her face that warned me of danger.

"Alice, what have you got planned?"

She gave me an innocent look, "What do you mean? Why would I have anything planned?"

I glared at her, but she just stared innocently back at me. I snorted, "Okay, then. For now. But I know you're planning something."

She smirked again and then grabbed my hand and ran to the car, with me stumbling along behind.

By the time we reached the shiny silver Volvo, the rest of the Cullens were already there.

"Hiya, guys!" Alice said, giving everyone the same energetic hug she had given me, and planting one on Jasper. "Ready to go?! We have a lot to do tonight … shopping … and shopping … and more shopping!!"

Everyone groaned and rolled their eyes, but it didn't faze her. "Oh, come on you guys! You know it'll be fun! Now get in the car, I'm driving!"

With that, she ran around to the driver's side and was in the car with it started before I even had a chance to register what she had said. Rosalie and Edward were also already in the car, and Jasper was on his way there.

Emmet smiled at my bewilderment. "You'll get used to it eventually. I guess we'd better get in the car before Alice runs over us."

I laughed, "Yeah, a little energetic, isn't she?"

"Just a bit."

We got in the car, and before the door was even fully shut, Alice was off. And when I say she was off, I'm not kidding at all. We were out of the parking lot and halfway down the road before I could get my seat belt buckled. She was going way too fast. I leaned forward to glance at the speedometer and wished I hadn't. We were pushing a hundred miles an hour. I felt sick.

I made it, though, and we were in Seattle in an hour and a half, record time. Alice swung the car into a parking spot, (which made my stomach swoop again), and jumped out of the car before I had realized we were actually stopped.

I breathed a sigh of relief and slid out after Emmet.

Alice met us at the door to the mall, obviously impatient. "Ughhh! You guys are so slow! Let's go! I told you, we have a lot to do!"

She grabbed me and led me off into the store.

Five hundred dollars and three hours later I finally got Alice to slow down and let me rest.

The entire group hit the food court. I ordered and sat down in the only seat left … right across from _him_.

Alice and Jasper and Rosalie and Emmet were already deep in conversation, so the only person left for me to talk to was Edward.

"Hi," I said, "What's up?"

He glared at me and went back to reading his book.

"Whatcha readin'?" I asked, still trying to be friendly. He didn't even acknowledge me this time. I scowled and devoted my entire attention to my fries.

A few seconds later, Alice got up and asked Edward if she could talk to him alone. He grudgingly got up and followed her.

_**Edward's Point of View**_

Bella sat down in the seat across from me, sending her sweet scent towards me. I concentrated on my book, doing my best to block her out … and not just because she smelled so appetizing. Just looking at her sent shivers up my spine.

She smiled at me, "Hi! What's up?"

I glared at her and realized that that was a mistake. As soon as I looked at her my breath caught in my throat and I felt a tingling in my fingers. I wanted to run my fingers through her hair, hold her hand, run my lips down her neck …

No! What was I thinking?! And why?! She was just another girl, no different than any of the others I had ever seen. "Oh, really? Are you sure?" a little voice in my head asked. "Yes! I'm sure! She's no different!" I snapped back at it. "Mmmhhhmmm …" it said skeptically, but I blocked it out and fixed my attention back on my book, feigning interest. (Though what I was really doing was imagining running my fingers along her jaw line, pulling her towards me, our lips meeting … NO!)

"Whatcha readin'?" she asked.

Catching myself, I didn't look up at her, just stared at my book, trying to clear my mind.

Alice was suddenly next to me and dragging me out of my seat, demanding that she needed to talk to me alone for just a minute.

_**Alice's Point of View**_

Bella sat down across from Edward, smiled, and said, "Hi! What's up?" very cheerily.

Perfect. I was about to get payment for the hard work I was doing. I waited for Edward to respond. He glared at her, and didn't say a word.

Ughhhh! If he didn't answer her this minute I would just have to … have to … well I didn't know what I was going to do, but he wasn't going to like it!

"Watcha readin'?" she asked, tilting her head.

He didn't even glance at her this time.

Excusing myself from the table, I stormed over to him. "Edward, we need to talk in private for just a minute. Won't take long." I didn't wait for his response, I just dragged him out of his seat and away from the table. As soon as we were out of hearing distance … of Bella at least … I grabbed his ear and twisted … HARD.

He bent over to my level so that I wasn't putting as much pressure on his ear. "What is that for?"

I twisted harder before answering, "THAT. Is for ignoring Bella when she was so KINDLY (I twisted even harder) trying to make a conversation with you. Now, You will go back to that table, smile at her, and talk to her. RIGHT?!"

"Okay, okay! Whatever you say, Alice!"

I twisted harder one more time, just to make sure.

"Ow! Seriously, let go of my ear you little …"

I let go and smiled sweetly at him. "No need for the language, now! There are little children here! Now go sit down and talk." I gave him a shove that sent him flying back to the table and into his seat.

Good grief! He was so dense sometimes! Don't get me wrong, he was my favorite brother, but he was just so annoying sometimes. Did he seriously think that I couldn't tell that he was in love with her?! Geese, even Emmet had mentioned something about it.

And Bella was so obviously in love with him, too.

I shook my head and made my way back to the table, where I was happy to see Edward talking to Bella, even if he was awkward and having a really hard time staying on topic while he stared at her … not that she was doing much better.

But I was still annoyed. For some reason, neither realized that the other was in love with them, and neither seemed to realize that they were in love. Lord help me, this would be the hardest matchmaking job I had ever had.

But I hadn't ever failed before, and I refused to fail on them.

They would get together … it would just take more intervention than I had originally thought …

**A/N: Alright people, I know more of you are reading than are reviewing, so if I don't get more reviews, I'm not posting again! X-rosepetals-x is NOT the only person reading this story (which is dedicated to her, by the way, because she's NOT too lazy to review. Thanks!) Reviews make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside ********,and they inspire me to write more. SO REVIEW!! … OR YOU WON'T GET ANOTHER CHAPTER!! (I mean it!!)**


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thanks to everyone reading my story … but reading it isn't enough … REVIEW

**A/N: Thanks to everyone reading my story … but reading it isn't enough … REVIEW!! Thanks to, x-rosepetals-x, daddysgirl1211, and DorothyHomicide for their wonderful reviews!! Sorry for not updating yesterday! Didn't get a chance to get on the computer yesterday. You'll forgive me!! ******

_**Emmet's Point of View**_

I almost felt sorry for Edward when Alice dragged him off to talk to him. She was pissed, and even _I_ am scared of Alice when she's pissed.

Jasper, Rosalie and I continued our conversation, but I know I was listening very closely to Alice and Edward, and I'm pretty sure Jasper and Rosalie were too. The first thing I heard was Edward's, "Ow!" and I had to fight hard not to laugh. I could tell Jasper and Rosalie were too. It was hard to make Edward say 'ow', but Alice was a feisty little thing. I could only imagine what torture she was putting him through.

A few more ows and a demand that Edward talk to Bella, and Edward returned to the table looking sheepish. He sat down and Alice returned, looking even more ticked off than when she left.

In all honesty, I could understand why she was so annoyed at Edward, which didn't happen very often. He was so obviously in love with her that even I noticed, another event that doesn't occur all too often. The thing is, _he_ didn't realize that he was in love with her, and that is what got to Alice so much.

Personally, I thought she should just let things take their natural course. Eventually, they would realize that they were meant for each other and everything would be fine. But Alice thought differently, and who am I to comment on something I know nothing about?

After Alice's little talk with him, Edward and Bella had begun to talk. I watched them, seeing how they looked at each other, and I leaned across the table to kiss my Rosalie …

_**Jasper's Point of View**_

As Alice sat down I gave her a disapproving look.

"What!?" she said, not meeting my eye.

"You know what," I said. "Why can't you just let them figure it out for themselves, hmmmm? It'll take a little longer, but everything will turn out fine." I turned to Emmet for support, but he was … busy. Looking back at Alice, I waited for her answer.

"Because it takes too long!"

I had to fight back my laughter. When I was sure my voice was under control I reached across the table and lifted her chin so that she was looking straight at me. She glared at me fiercely, and this time I let myself laugh. "Ahhh, my fierce and impatient little pixie! You never will learn, will you?" I sighed and gave her a peck on the nose.

She had other ideas, though. Before I could pull away she had locked an arm around my neck and was kissing me _very _thoroughly …

_**Edward's Point of View**_

I was talking to Bella (about what, I couldn't tell you. I was finding it difficult to keep myself from drooling) when I realized that the other four had stopped talking. Bella and I shot each other questioning glances and then turned to see why.

I immediately looked away. Suffice to say that it was getting _very_ steamy over there.

I looked back at Bella to find her staring, jaw dropped. That was just too much. I burst into laughter.

She jumped and looked at me, blushing quite prettily and grinning sheepishly. That was when it hit me that I loved her.

_**Bella's Point of View**_

Edward and I were talking when we both realized that our companions had stopped talking. We both threw questioning glances at each other and turned to see what was up.

As soon as I saw what was going on, my jaw dropped.

Rosalie was literally _on _the table As in she had her entire torso stretched out on it in order to reach Emmet. And from what I could see, her shirt was being pulled far below where it should be, and it wasn't stretchy at all.

Both held each other in a vice-like grip, and I was very glad that Rosalie's hair hid the rest from view.

Behind them, Alice and Jasper weren't much better. Alice had one arm completely around Jasper's neck, pulling him closer and closer to her. The other was twisted into his hair, refusing to let him get away … not that he was going anywhere any time soon. I stopped there.

Suddenly, I heard laughter. I snapped my mouth shut and turned, giving Edward a sheepish grin.

Watching him laugh, a full, booming laugh that made my heart race, I realized that I loved him.

_**Edward's Point of View**_

Yes, I loved her. I thought about kissing her, and that thought made my breath come quicker. I steadied myself and lifted my hand to take her face and pull her towards me.

Then another thought ran across my mind, _What if she doesn't love me? _

My hand stopped, and I ran it through my hair to disguise the movement.

If she didn't love me, she would definitely not appreciate me kissing her. If she didn't love me … I didn't want to live …

_**Bella's Point of View**_

I loved him to the point where it hurt.

He lifted his hand, and I stopped breathing in anticipation. I wanted him to kiss me, now!

He paused and then ran his hand through his hair.

It was all I could do to keep myself from bursting into tears. Of course he didn't love me! How stupid was I? Why did I even love him?

That, I couldn't answer. All I knew was that I wouldn't … couldn't live without him.

**A/N: Sooo … you like? Tell me, Tell me!, TELL ME!! Please! Will Bella and Edward get together? Will Bella get the kiss that she wants so much? I want to know what's going on in your little heads!! And the only way I'll ever know is if you review!! I'm not Edward, I can't read your mind! And, in all honesty I'd prefer not to be him. That way I can date him!! ******

**Anyway … on a more serious note … I can't promise the next time I'll update. I'm starting a summer intensive (for those of you who don't know, ********, that's a summer program where you go and you get to DANCE ALL DAY!! How great is that?!) tomorrow, and it's ALL DAY. As in, it starts at 9 AM and doesn't end until 10 PM! That's thirteen hours of dancing!! WHOOPEEEE!! **

**That's good for me, bad for you. Because that means I'll have NO TIME AT ALL to update. So sad … but I'll do the best I can. Love you all!!**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Once again, much to my dismay, I do not own Twilight or any of its characters … Stephenie Meyer does.**

**Chapter 5**

_**Edward's Point of View**_

Bella and I didn't speak again before we left.

We got into the Volvo and she ended up sitting next to me. Our arms were touching, and I relished that touch. It took some work not to let my imagination run rampant.

Being so close to her did have a down side, though. Her scent was stronger than ever. Venom pooled in my mouth, and I clenched my fists against the overwhelming thirst.

_**Bella's Point of View**_

In the car, on the way to their house, I was squeezed in next to Edward. Our arms were touching. This fact was blatantly obvious to me.

It took me a moment to realize how extremely _cold_ his arm was. This reminded me why I had gotten to know the Cullens in the first place. I wanted to know about them. There was something strange, and I was curious.

Somewhere in this venture, I had fallen in love with Edward, though he didn't love me. A pang went through my heart as I thought that, and I blocked any thoughts from my mind for the rest of the ride.

_**Edward's Point of View**_

As she got into the car, I wondered again whether she loved me or not. Then I got a solution, and it was so obvious I wanted to smack myself in the head for not thinking of it earlier.

I could read minds!!

I listened for her thoughts … and listened harder. For some reason I couldn't hear anything from her. I concentrated even harder, but I still didn't get anything.

Soon, I had to give up on this effort in favor of restraining my raging thirst.

_**Alice's Point of View**_

When we got back to the house it was nearly 11:30, hardly what I would call late, but later than I had meant to get back. I had felt some pity for Bella on the drive home, so I had slowed my speed down to 130 mph instead of the 160-180 mph I usually drove.

Oh, well. That just meant I had less time to talk to Bella than I had planned on. But I was Alice, and I could get all the information I needed in this time span.

We got back to the house, and I introduced Bella to Carlisle and Esme.

_**Carlisle's Point of View**_

It was around 11:30 when the kids got home. I heard the five of them step out of the car … and then I heard a sixth pair of feet hit the ground.

I looked at Esme and saw that she, too had heard the extra pair of feet. Well … at least I wasn't crazy … yet. We both went to the door to welcome our children home and find out who was with them.

_**Esme's Point of View**_

I smelt her before I saw her. Her scent was intoxicating. I wondered how Jasper had ever made it home riding in the car with her.

Alice bounced in the door, and I grabbed her by the shoulders to stop her.

"Who's that?" I asked her softly, nodding at the pretty human girl who had just walked in the door.

"Oh, that's Bella. You don't mind if she spends the night, do you? I'll tell you more when we're alone."

"Of course, I don't mind. Is Jasper okay? And you _will_ explain, and it had better be good."

She reached up and packed me on the cheek, "Thanks, mom, Jasper's fine, and it will be good." Then she sped off to rejoin the group.

_**Bella's Point of View**_

Even before I saw the house, I knew it was going to be huge. I don't know why. Maybe it had a little something to do with the mile long avenue lined with huge trees leading up to the house. The house was gorgeous. It was, as I mentioned, huge. It was white, to the point where it nearly glowed in the dark, and what wasn't white was glass.

As we neared it, I nearly broke my neck trying to get it all in my line of sight. I didn't get a very long chance to goggle at it, though, as Alice was literally dragging me inside to meet her mother, Esme, and her dad, Carlisle.

I stepped in the door and stopped cold upon viewing her mother and father. I found it extremely hard to believe they were anywhere near old enough to be Alice's mother and father. They looked not a day over twenty five, and probably a few years less than that.

Esme, was tall and perfectly elegant. Everything about her was long and slender and motherly and comforting. Her golden eyes shone with kindness, and I felt myself smiling at her. Carlisle was just a little bit taller than Esme, and elegant in his own way. Though slightly more severe in looks than Esme, he radiated just as much, if not more, kindness and warmth as she.

Esme offered me a long, slender, elegant hand decorated with nothing more than a simple silver band. I grasped it, embarrassed to see my rough, calloused nubs to be put in direct comparison with her beauty. Then I did the same with Carlisle. Both of their hands were just as cold as their children's.

As soon as Esme and Carlisle had both greeted me, Alice again dragged me off, this time to her room, where she said I would be spending the night.

**SORRY!! So, a two week delay turned into a three week delay turned into a four week delay turned into … well I don't know how many weeks it's been! **

**Either way, as soon as I realized how long it had been, I started typing, and this is what I came up with. Hopefully it's at least okay. I know it's not the greatest.**

**Anyway, y'all still need to review! How about this … if I get enough reviews I'll post the next chapter tomorrow … and maybe I'll just post it because I'm nice … but it's only guaranteed to be posted if you REVIEW!! **

**From now on, my goal is to update every week … don't expect that to always happen, but that's my goal. **

**Til next time! REVIEW!! ******


	6. Chapter 6

Ahem … I am EXTREMELY disappointed in y'all … I know it's been a while since I posted, but still … you could at least review

**Ahem … I am EXTREMELY disappointed in y'all … I know it's been a while since I posted, but still … you could at least review! It's not like it takes more than a minute or two of your apparently precious and extremely limited time … but seriously … if you have time to read the story you have time to review … SO REVIEW!! Now, enough of my ranting … on with the story …(and this time you'd better review!)**

**You guys all know I don't own Edward or Bella or anything having to do with Twilight … ******

_**Edward's Point of View**_

As soon as Bella was gone, Carlisle turned to me. Somehow he always knew what was wrong … or maybe it was just stupid Jasper with his stupid emotion sensing telling him about me. Either way, Carlisle knew something was up, and by the look on his face he was determined to find out what it was.

I tried to act like I didn't see him and headed for the stairs, but of course he didn't fall for that.

As soon as I took a step I heard his voice, calm and collected and in normal human speed, "Edward?"

I took a deep breath and turned to him, smiling a smile that wasn't a smile but more like a baring of my teeth. Don't get me wrong, I love and trust Carlisle more than anyone in the world … it's just that I didn't really know what was going on. I had a theory, but I didn't want to share this theory with anyone … not even Carlisle.

"Edward, you didn't even say hi?" he said, luring me over to him. Of course I could just ignore him, but I couldn't. I walked over to him tensely, glaring at him. "Hi." I said, through clenched teeth.

"Edward, what's wrong?"

"Absolutely nothing … why would something be wrong?"

"I don't know. You just seem a little tense."

"Really … well maybe it's just because of the human's scent."

Now he got serious. No more beating around the bush. He wanted to know what was going on, and he was going to find out. "Don't give me that, Edward. I know as well as you do that you have much more self control than that. Human scent affects you very little. Now tell me what's really wrong."

I looked at him … the man I respected and loved so much … and something in me broke. I was nearly crying as I told him, "I don't know. Just looking at Bella … it makes me feel something … something …" My voice trailed off. I had no clue what that something was, no way to explain it.

Carlisle seemed to understand. He hugged me, his strength helping me to regain mine. "Now, son. I know. I know. Anytime you want to talk, come see me."

I nodded and straightened up. Then I turned and ran up the stairs to my room. Once there, I grabbed a random CD and blasted the music as loud as the speakers would go.

_**Alice's Point of View**_

As soon as I possibly could, I grabbed Bella and dragged her up to my room … literally dragged. How could humans move so slow?!

We _finally_ made it up to my room, and I pretty much shoved Bella into a sitting position on the bed. Then I calmed myself down and composedly sat down in my computer chair facing her. I leaned back, relaxed for just long enough to seem slightly tired, and then I looked at her, smiling impishly, I believe, and asked, "So … I saw you and Edward talking at dinner tonight … what do you think?"

She looked scared when I first glanced at her … maybe it was the smile. When I asked her about Edward, though, she looked downright terrified and embarrassed. Her heart started racing, I heard her breath catch in her throat, and she had turned a shade darker than a cherry tomato. Her eyes scanned wildly around the room for a second before she looked at me again and smiled, "Oh, he seems nice … a little quiet, though … but it's nice … the quiet …" her voice trailed off.

"Mmmmhhhmmmm … quite a looker, isn't he?" I asked, pushing her to give me a straight answer.

She blushed again, and her heart picked up even faster … if that were possible. "He certainly isn't bad-looking. I've seen worse."

I was fed up. "Look, Bella, we're friends, right? We're girls … we gotta stick by each other. Whatever's on your mind, you can tell me." I smiled winningly at her.

She looked at me, and I could se tears beginning to well in her big brown eyes.

_**Bella's Point of View**_

Alice dragged me up to her room … literally dragged. I found it hard to imagine that someone so small could be so damn strong! Just another clue in my quest to find the truth about the Cullens, I guess.

We got up to her room, and she shoved me down on the bed. Then, going slightly slower than was necessary, she took her own seat in the computer chair facing me. She leaned back in the chair, again taking just a little bit too much time.

Then she looked at me, impish grin plastered on her face. "So … I saw you and Edward talking at dinner tonight … what do you think?"

Just hearing his name sent my heart beating wildly out of control and made my breath catch. I blushed. Well, this proved it, I was pretty much head-over-heels in love with Edward … and oddly enough I didn't care that this could very well ruin my way of life. I had no room in my life for a boyfriend, but I didn't care. I loved Edward so much it made my heart ache. How much did Alice know? I said my answer carefully, trying to get her off my tail. I didn't quite know what to do about my love for Edward, but I wasn't quite sure I completely wanted to admit it out loud yet.

"Oh, he seems nice … a little quiet, though … but it's nice … the quiet …" I let my voice fade away.

She raised one perfect eyebrow and said, "Mmmmmmhhhmmmm … quite a looker, isn't he?"

A picture of him came to me, his perfectly messy bronze hair, his gorgeous bronze eyes, his marble skin, his stone muscles, his teasing smile, and my heart picked up even more, threatening to send me into spasms. He most certainly _was_ a looker … he was better looking, and nicer, and kinder, and sweeter, and less obnoxious than any guy I had ever met. I looked at Alice again, "He certainly isn't bad looking. I've seen worse," I said nonchalantly.

Now Alice was pissed. "Look, Bella, we're friends, right? We're girls … we gotta stick by each other. Whatever's on your mind, you can tell me." She smiled, and this time it was an honest, true smile.

I mulled over her words … 'friends', she had said. I liked that. I could tell her, my friend, anything. Tears began to well up in my eyes as I began to tell her …

**Soooooo … watcha think? Tell me, tell me, tell me!! See, I updated this week! So you can all review now! I'll do my best to get another chapter done by next weekend! Luv you all, (especially those of you who REVIEW) !**


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